Homeward Bound

The momentum of the run; the story of being homeward bound. It is a spiritual time of uncompromising honesty. There is no room for vainglory only a modest understanding of what it means to respect the mile and respect the process. It demands the time, effort and commitment to afford one the luxury of aptitude and freedom to run beyond the limits of conversation, mediocre bantering and encroaching social chatter. It very much is a use it or lose enterprise. Because it cannot be cheated or faked its membership is purely merit based. It is the road of the journeyman; the way inward, the way to the sound of silence and wordless communication.

Yesterday's run inspired this entry and this evening's run. It was cold, dark and glorious. Running through the night air is exhilarating especially when shaking off the cares of the day. With each step my feet alternating their calling to the asphalt. The anonymity of running cloaked in the winter night was liberating, vanity a useless commodity in the night. Xena my wonderful trusted, four legged pal, affords me the luxury of running securely. The tonic level or flow was abounding; the superfluity of my stride lasted miles not moments. This is the Christian runner's high which takes your breadth away while delivering oxygen rich blood to each cell. It is a cosmic renaissance a molecular meditation. In complete control the experienced practitioner relaxes between each contraction. The hitting of my feet punctuated the time spent leaping through the air. There is nothing quite like partnering up with what God provides: the sea of stars, the waves of clouds, the breezy brisk blanket if a December night. Much of the climate of the run is established by the weather God provides. What a cathedral!

In order to maximize the impact from yesterday's run I recreated the conditions during today's eight miler: night run with the dog, correct audio tracks, the same general route though augmented, even the same clothes (yes, they were laundered). The result was incredible transcendental mystical and revitalizing. It is the stuff great runs are made of. Use audio cues and descriptive language to create these conditions at other times too. There is a controlled release a san chin (hard soft) approach where you remain completely relaxed and tighten only on impact. The moments of flight and relaxation are actually far greater then the brevity of impact.

This is where prayer transcends time pulling me into the moment and all other sensations, feelings and big ideas fall away freeing me up to be present. During this prayerful time there are no 'give me' prayers, no regret, no anticipation, only a stepping up and into the sacred. The invitation presents itself as I prepare each run and and sometimes through preparation it becomes plain and I begin to understand intuitively "thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path". It is in the gladsome light of the night's darkness where free from pretention and prying eyes where I find my host "The Lord of The Dance".